This post is all about questions to ask your roommate.
Every living situation is made so much better when you’re friends with your roommate. That’s why it’s important to know good questions to ask your roommate (especially if you don’t know them well) so that they can become your friend.
Whether you got to choose your roommate or they’re just a random person, living with someone new can always be a little awkward. There’s no way to know whether they’ll be a good roommate, so it’s good to start off on common ground!
You can use these questions for a roommate you just moved in with, or even when you’re looking for a prospective roommate and want to see if they’re the right fit.
Before you jump into setting ground rules, it’s good to have a list of questions you can use to get to know them better so that you feel like you’re on level ground and can deal with the more awkward conversations like financial obligations, cleaning habits, chores, and significant others.
So, let’s dive into some questions to ask your roommate to establish a relationship of open communication!
This post is all about questions to ask your roommate.
60 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR NEW ROOMIE:
1. Have you had a roommate before?
This is a great one to add to your roommate questions game because it will tell you about their past experience. If they’ve never had a roommate before, that’s no big deal at all! They just might be more clear on their expectations and desires if they have.
2. Will you be going home often?
This is great small talk, and it’s great to know ahead of time whether you’ll be spending all your time with them or whether you’ll ever get your dorm or apartment to yourself.
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3. Do you like the temperature warm or cool?
This may seem like a weird question, but it’s an important one.
Here’s a fun anecdote:
I’m not particularly picky about the temperature, but I do like it on the cooler side. I’d rather wear a comfy hoodie at home than be warm and wear shorts all the time. But one year, I had a roommate who would always turn the temperature up to at least 80 degrees fahrenheit (that’s upwards of 25 celcius, for all my fellow Canadians).
4. What made you decide on this college?
Again, this is great small talk. It’s not particularly one of those funny questions to ask a potential roommate, but it’s a great “get to know you” nonetheless.
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5. What is your daily routine like?
You’ll never really know the intricacies of someone’s daily routine until you start living with them, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from past roommates, it’s that you CANNOT assume your routines are similar.
If there are deal-breakers for you when it comes to routine, you need to be able to communicate that from the get-go. There’s no such thing as a truly perfect roommate, but there are ways you can have these conversations to communicate your boundaries and get on the same page!
6. What kind of music do you like?
This is also a great get-to-know-you icebreaker question.
The kind of music someone listens to will tell you a lot about them. It’s a huge indicator as to how much you can relate to them!
7. Do you have any dietary restrictions or allergies?
It’s important to know if they have any serious dietary restrictions, because when you’re living with someone, you may need to change your eating habits slightly if they have a serious allergy!
For example, if they’re seriously allergic to peanuts, you probably don’t want to unknowingly bring peanut butter into the house that could be a genuine risk to them.
There are other dietary restrictions that might not be as serious, but it’s still important to know!
8. Do you have a job?
It’s great to have an idea of what your roommate’s work schedule will be like.
Why?
Simply because it’ll give you a good indication as to when you’ll have the place to yourself.
Plus, it’s weird to live with someone who’s always out but you have no clue where they are ever. Speaking from experience. It’s hard to be good friends with someone when you don’t know the basics about their day-to-day life!
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8. Where is the farthest you’ve ever travelled from home?
This is a great ice breaker question because chances are, you may have travelled to the same country and you can connect over your experiences. Or, perhaps you’ve both been to different places and you can use this question as a way of getting to know each other better, which is always a good idea for a new roommate!
9. Are you in a relationship?
If they are, it’s good to know that you’re about to make two new friends, not just one!
And aside from that, this is another one of those questions that gives you some of the most basic-level information about someone so that you can easily build your way up to being friends.
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10. What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
This is another one of those questions to ask your roommate that’s a little unusual.
But, it’s sure to start an interesting conversation and break the ice!
11. If you were studying abroad, where would you go?
This ice breaker question is a great one to ask in college because you never know what answer you’ll get.
What do I mean by this?
It might just be that your roommate actually is planning to do a semester abroad! Or, maybe they’re an International student who already is studying abroad.
At the very least, even if they’re not studying abroad or planning to study abroad, it starts a fun conversation that will give you insight into what they’re interested in.
12. What’s the worst injury you ever got?
I don’t know about you, but I definitely have some funny (and embarrassing) injury stories.
Again, this can simply lead to a fun conversation.
13. If you could be in any movie or TV show, which one would it be and which character would you play?
This is one of those funny questions to ask a potential roommate that can actually tell you lots about a person.
Not that you’re asking me, but in case you’re wondering, I easily choose Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore Girls. Lauren Graham is awesome, we have the same first name, and I’m basically Lorelai (other than the fact that I’m not yet a mom).
14. Tell the story of the worst date you’ve ever been on and what made it so bad!
This is one of my FAVORITE ice breaker questions. And I can almost guarantee that as soon as you ask your roommate this question, it’ll become your favourite, too.
(My worst date story always gets laughs!!)
15. Do you play any sports?
This is another one of the questions to ask your roommate that tells you some pretty important, basic-level info about them.
16. Are you going to get involved in any clubs, teams or extracurriculars?
When you ask this, you’ll find out if you and your roommate share common interests or hobbies. Even if you don’t, you’ll be able to ask them more about their interests, show them that you truly care, and find out more about them.
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17. What are your hobbies?
Here’s the deal:
If you haven’t realized by this point, the main purpose of these questions is to break the ice and find out basic information about your roommate so that you can easily build a friendship.
I know this question sounds a bit basic and overused, but it’s popular for a reason. It really does tell you a lot about someone when you’re first getting to know them.
18. What’s your worst habit?
Let your roommate know that there is no judgment when you ask this question.
To make them feel more comfortable answering this, you might consider giving your answer first. Then, they’ll be assured that there is no judgment and it’s just a simple get-to-know-you.
19. What’s your best habit?
Obviously, a more positive spin on the last question!
20. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Asking someone what they wanted to be is such a fun question!
Personally, I was quite the ambitious little girl who wanted to be just about everything. Then, my grade 8 career test told me I should be a crossing guard. Thank God I followed my own ambitions!!
21. If you could pick any movie character to be your roommate, who would you choose?
On the contrary, you can ask which movie character would be their WORST NIGHTMARE as a roommate!
Both these versions are so much fun.
22. What is your favourite childhood memory?
As far as questions to ask your roommate go, this is a great one because it gives you insight as to the kinds of experiences they were accustomed to growing up and how similar or different they were to yours.
23. Do you want to live in this country your whole life, or do you hope to move abroad?
I always find that with this question, you get answers you didn’t expect!
24. What holidays do you celebrate and what traditions do you have for those holidays?
Asking this question might even give you insight about your roommate’s beliefs and family life. These are deeper topics that might be awkward to delve into, so asking about holidays is a great starting point.
25. What motivates you to get stuff done?
Speaking of deep questions to ask your roommate, this question might not seem that deep, but it is.
How?
Everyone’s inner motivations are different. Everyone has unique reasons for why they do things and how they stay on top of their goals. Asking this question will allow you to understand what is important to your roommate in life (again, without asking an intense question straight-up).
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26. In your opinion, who are the top 3 most attractive celebrities?
Because who doesn’t love talking about their celebrity crushes?
27. What has been your biggest accomplishment in life so far?
People always have to think hard about this question, which is intriguing.
Full transparency, I stopped to think pretty hard about this even while just writing it!
28. Do you know what you want to do after you graduate?
Another one of those super important questions to ask your roommate that gives you a starting point to get to know them.
29. Who did you go to prom with?
You can even share pictures of each others’ prom dates, if you want! This is a fun conversation (and can be a more subtle way to find out if they’re in a relationship or not).
30. What is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?
The best questions to ask your roommate are the ones that will make them think harder than normal. This is probably a hard question to answer, but such a great one!
31. What is the best gift you’ve ever received?
If you and your roommate become good friends, this ice breaker question will give you ideas on what to get them for Christmas or their birthday!
32. Which movie or TV show character do you relate to most and why?
There are quite a few movie/TV show questions on this list…
Why?
Because I think it’s one of the easiest ways to learn how someone thinks of themselves without asking an awkwardly deep question too soon.
33. What is the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
Who knows, maybe their answer will give you ideas for your own college bucket list!
Or, maybe it’ll just help you understand how adventurous they are so that you can make great memories together in the near future.
34. List 3 things that you want to do or experience before you graduate college.
Maybe you’ll end up experiencing some of those things together!
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35. Do you have any pets?
If you’re lucky, they have a dog, and they’ll show you some adorable pics that will brighten your day!
36. Do you have any siblings?
This is another one of those questions to ask your roommate that gives you pretty basic-level information (that’s super important)!
37. Where did you grow up?
Knowing where someone grew up tells you a lot about them.
Maybe they moved a lot, so moving away from home will be a piece of cake. Or, perhaps they lived in the same house their whole life, and moving away from home will be a difficult adjustment.
It’s just good to know.
38. What would your dream job be if you could do anything and money didn’t matter?
In the ideal world, their answer is the same as the thing they’re actually aiming to do when they graduate. But, not everyone’s answer is the same!
39. What food do you consider the best comfort food?
Of all the questions to ask your roommate, I think this one is probably most important.
Why?
Because when your roommate is having a bad day, you’ll probably be the first one to know. So, wouldn’t you like to know what might cheer them up in that moment?
Knowing their favourite comfort food is one of the best ways to show you care.
As you get to know them, you’ll learn more ways you can support them on a bad day, and vice versa.
But this is an incredible starting point that I guarantee they will LOVE you for.
[RELATED POST – College Student Self Care Ideas: 21 Ideas for Students]
40. What’s your go-to coffee order?
Why does this matter?
If your roommate was stopping by a coffee shop on the way home from class and they knew you had tons of studying to do, so they grabbed your favourite coffee order and brought it back to you, wouldn’t you just love them forever?
Well, I know I would.
This is just a fantastic way to show your roommate that you care about them and want to be friends!
42. If you could solve one world issue, what would it be?
And we’re back with the deep questions to ask your roommate!
This question will tell you a lot about what’s important to a person.
43. Do you have a dream car? If so, what is it?
Add this to your roommate questions game for the simple reason that it’s fun to dream about.
And who knows? Maybe, in ten years, you and your roommate (future friend) will be driving your dream cars around together!
44. What would your dream house look like?
Believe it or not, this is more than a fun question. It could actually give you some insight about what type of decor your roommate likes. This might help you with your dorm room decorating!
45. If you were famous, what would you be famous for?
This will give you insight into their talents and passions that they might not have otherwise told you about!
46. What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Boy oh boy, do I ever have some terrible worst job stories.
This will teach you some more basic-level stuff about your roommate. Did they have a job in high school? Do they have a job now? How many jobs have they had? What is their past experience like?
And, if they have any terrible stories like I do, you’ll get some great laughs out of it.
47. Which summer was the best of your life, and why?
Knowing your roommate’s answer to this question will help you understand what they consider fun!
[RELATED POST – Summer Ideas for College Students: 22 Priorities to Set]
48. What was the biggest turning point in your life?
I know this question is quite direct and deep, but if you’re comfortable to ask it, it’ll make you and your roommate close quite quickly.
Knowing the biggest turning point in someone’s life tells you about what they’ve been through and why they are the way they are now.
It gives you a deeper respect and admiration for them.
49. What social media platform do you use the most?
Oh, and while you’re at it, make sure you get all their socials (if you don’t have them already!)
50. What’s your favourite time of year?
This another example of simple roommate icebreaker questions that will tell you so much about a person!
What’s their favourite season for fashion?
Which special events do they look forward to?
What weather do they like the best?
There is just so much you can learn here.
51. When is your birthday?
Don’t be a bad roommate by being totally oblivious to your roommate’s birthday!
This is especially important in college.
My roommate in my freshman year had her birthday in September, soon after school started. So, if I hadn’t asked right away, that would have been awkward!
52. Are you a night owl or an early bird?
This is a great example of a question to ask in a roommate interview or on the first day of meeting your new roommate. Understanding your natural habits and sleep schedule will help you understand if you’re a good match! And if it’s too late, asking this question will at least give you a good chance at helping you understand how your sleeping schedule might be impacted.
53. What are your study habits?
Do they like studying in big groups? Alone at the library? With music blasting?
It’ll be easier to have honest communication going forward if you start with these questions at the beginning of your living arrangement. This doesn’t need to be a serious conversation like this, but asking questions like this will help you understand if you’ve got a compatible roommate and you’ll be able to better accommodate each other’s needs and habits. This is so important in a shared living space!!
54. How do you feel about overnight visitors?
This can be an awkward question for a potential new roommate, but it’s good information to have. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t want overnight guests but they expect to have their romantic partner stay overnight a lot, you need to know that expectation in advance so that you can make an informed decision.
One of the most common roommate problems I hear about (especially amongst college students) is that one person has their significant other stay overnight a lot, and the other person feels uncomfortable by it. Your home should be your safe space, so these are the basic questions you need to ask to make sure your comfort levels are compatible.
55. What is your morning routine like?
Someone’s morning routine can tell you a LOT about them. The truth is, when you’re living with a roommate, whether they’re a morning person or not, their habits in those quiet hours will dictate how your own morning feels.
56. How clean are you on a scale from 1-10, if 1 is “slob” and 10 is “neat freak?”
Even if you ask this question, you might not know 100% until you actually start living with this person. But I wish I had asked my previous roommates this question because it wasn’t until too late that I realized we may not have been a good fit!
57. What are your pet peeves?
This is important information to know about a potential roomie!! You’ll never wind up being friends with your future roommate if you’re doing things that are getting on each other’s nerves.
58. How would you like to handle the cleaning schedule?
When you’re first moving in with someone, it’s important to have an open conversation about how the cleaning schedule will work. Otherwise, you’ll end up getting frustrated, and nobody wants that.
59. What are your social habits like?
It can be awkward to ask someone about their best friends, drinking habits, party life, and daily schedule, so just pose the question to them this way and you should be able to get an understanding of their social habits!
60. Are you an extrovert or an introvert?
Do they need lots of alone time or do they want to be best friends? If your roommate is the kind of person who needs lots of personal space, that’s probably something you should know!
This post was all about questions to ask your roommate.
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